


The power of flowers

by Sylencia



Category: Naruto
Genre: Fluff, I don't know how to tag this, Introspection, M/M, Pre-Relationship, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 16:51:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13462452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylencia/pseuds/Sylencia
Summary: Tobirama has taken the habit to take a pause during his day and go to the park to relax, away from his duties and his brother. The problem ? He's never alone. ... Is it really a problem, though ?





	The power of flowers

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am again, with .. this. I don't really know how to describe it, it's just .. scenes. A moment. Something like that.  
> Anyways, I still suck at titles and summaries !

Tobirama had started to go with this ritual a moment ago already. It had only been a way to unwind, at first, when things were getting too overwhelming for him, when things were too serious. With Konoha’s creation and Hashirama becoming Hokage, Tobirama had found himself unable to take time for himself. Not that it was something he usually did, indulging himself with some time when he needed to. Ever since he was a kid, Tobirama had worked his ass off, all the time, he had spent all his life working for the clan, training, doing the best he could because he couldn’t do anything else, because he hadn’t been allowed to either.  
  
But now the peace had been achieved, now there were little worries in his life anymore .. Tobirama decided to indulge himself to do just that. Take a pause in the middle of the day, come here and breath.  
  
It was supposed to be a casual thing, at first. For it to happen once in a while. To get away from everything. He still was in Konoha though, he could feel the buzzing of the village all around him, he was a great sensor after all. He could feel it all but it felt almost fainted, when sitting in the middle of the park Hashirama grew for his village. Tobirama could feel his brother’s chakra all around him, in every flowers, every strands of grass, every trees. It was like a reassuring presence without the man actually being around. And it was perfect this way. Almost perfect.  
  
The first time Tobirama realized he was being watched, he had felt restless. He had growled and done his best to relax again but he never managed. He failed so hard and Tobirama had to leave and come back at another moment, hoping he would be left alone this time. But each time he came, he was being watched and Tobirama thought about confronting his watcher at first but he eventually decided against it. It would only make things worse. It wouldn't help. So, Tobirama sucked it up and he ignored it.  
  
With time, he grew used to it. Ignoring it worked for a moment, it did and Tobirama was able to find peace again. To feel like he was alone, in the middle of nature. Away from everything, stranded from the rest of the world, even if he still was in the village.  
  
But other feelings took over, after a couple of weeks. He started feeling restless again. Not because he was uncomfortable but .. but he started to wait for his watcher to come. To feel him close, hiding behind a tree and observing him for as long as he was around. They never saw each other, while in the middle of the park. Oh Tobirama knew exactly who it was. How couldn’t he ? He was the best sensor in the world, or so he was pretentious enough to think, and he found it almost insulting the other thought he didn’t know he was here. And he had wanted to let him know, at first but .. he didn’t say a thing. He just .. accepted it as it was.  
  
It was funny, though, that Madara was underestimating his abilities. Or, maybe, Madara knew that Tobirama was aware of his presence but didn't care. Either way, Tobirama didn’t mind. He could have felt it insulting, for Madara to think he wouldn’t know but .. if he may be honest, Tobirama had grown .. used to that man. Madara wasn’t that bad. He was even nice enough, sometimes. He too was a hard-working man, he took his responsibilities to the heart, he made sure everything was working well in the village. They had joined their forces, to counterbalance Hashirama’s lack of seriousness. And Tobirama, after some time, had realized he and Madara had a lot in common.  
  
Still, it seemed Madara couldn’t trust him yet. Or so Tobirama kept thinking. Why would Madara spy on him, if he did ? Why would Madara come, everytime he was around and watch him this way if not to keep an eye on him ? It was creepy in a way, but Tobirama … learned to live with it. He learned to accept it. And he had started to like it, even. He liked having that man’s attention on him and it took him a long time to admit it to himself but oh well. Tobirama wasn’t stupid enough to try and lie to himself.  
  
He liked Madara.  
  
It was obvious enough, with the way his heart acted up when he was near that man. He often found himself wondering how would Madara’s lips feel on his. And that had been quite a shock but .. Tobirama was done fighting his feelings. Sure, he still was a shinobi, trained all his life to suppress emotions and he was very good at that. But maybe, just maybe, now they were at peace, now things were so much easier, he could indulge into some fantasies. He doubted Madara would ever want anything to do with him, after he stabbed Izuna through the chest. Madara resented him still so much for it, it showed with how much he glared, every time they walked past each other along a corridor. Or used to glare. The hue in his eyes had been quite different from, lately. Tobirama didn’t know why but it was already hard enough to figure his own emotions out, to try and decipher Madara's.  
  
Today was no different. Tobirama had arrived to the park a couple of minutes ago only, because Hashirama was being frustrating, acting like a child because of the ton of paperwork he was supposed to go through with. And just in time, Madara was there as well, hiding behind the usual tree, not even bothering to suppress his chakra. It was as if he wanted to be found. Or for him to be very much aware of his presence. Tobirama didn’t know. He didn’t care. All he wanted was to rest. And relax. And he didn’t need anyone to watch over him while he tried.  
  
Tobirama still didn’t bulge. This was his alone time, this was his moment. From the size of the stack of paper on Hashirama’s desk before he left, Tobirama already knew he was going to spend hours tonight trying to catch up with it all. It had been their routine, ever since Hashirama became Hokage. But Tobirama didn’t mind it. He had no one to go home to unlike Hashirama, after all, and Mito was pregnant. Tobirama was willing to sacrifice his sleep in order to make his brother as comfortable as possible.  
  
The day was beautiful. The sky was blue and the sun was shining hard, and Tobirama didn’t move for a moment before he finally stripped from his hakama, as well as his sandals. The feel of the fresh grass under his soles made him smile, just a little. The kind of feelings he didn’t know before, the kind he never indulged into, before he started to come here, but this kind of little things were enjoyable though. Things had changed so much, ever since Konoha was created. And he had doubted his brother’s hopefulness, at first, he did but … but now, things had changed. And Tobirama could live this life, he decided. He could get used to peace, even knowing it wasn’t going to last forever. Nothing was meant to last forever after all, especially not peace.  
  
Half an hour passed and the only thing Tobirama focused on was the singing of the birds, lulling him to lie down for a nap. He napped, sometimes. When he knew he was going to stay up late to catch up on Hashirama’s work. But he didn’t want to sleep this afternoon, he was too bothered with Madara’s presence to do so. Instead, he busied his hands with the flowers surrounding him, carefully picking them and starting to braid them together. Tobirama couldn’t say he was very good with this kind of things, he usually ended up throwing it all away but .. He could remember doing this with his little brothers, a long time ago. Before he started training. He could remember their mother teaching them to make little sculptures with flowers. A moment of innocence until it was their father’s turn to teach them things like fighting and killing. A good memory among death and the loss around him.  
  
Now, it had become only a way to keep his hands busy when he was feeling too restless and Tobirama never managed to do anything as beautiful as he remembered his mother doing but oh well. The sculpture wasn’t his goal. Resting his mind was and Tobirama was quite fine with it all.  
  
And it worked, at first, it did. Tobirama could feel his thoughts slip away from him, he could feel himself white out for a dozen of seconds at a time, as if he were too focused on his braiding to think, for his brain to do what it was supposed to. He was in automatic mode, his hands working on themselves and he loved that state. It was almost like sleeping, but with his eyes opened and still very much aware of his surroundings. It was like .. meditating. And Tobirama loved it.  
  
It could have lasted but of course, it didn’t. Like everything good, the moment was meant to end. He knew exactly where it came from, though. There was a change, around him. A fluctuation in the nearby chakra he could feel and he wondered, for a moment, what was Madara doing. Because what he was feeling was coming from the man and .. what was he doing ? Tobirama couldn’t exactly know, he wasn’t close enough with the man to know how his chakra acted up in such moments but the sudden surge of chakra that followed made Tobirama smile knowingly. That, he knew. Madara flared up his chakra this way when he felt threatened. Did he start dozing off and startled and thought he had to protect himself ? The mere image of it had Tobirama chuckle to himself and smile for nothing.  
  
“Are you truly thinking someone’s going to attack while you’re asleep ?” Tobirama called out, looking toward Madara’s location just because he could.  
  
Silence answered him, at first and Tobirama wondered, for a moment, if Madara was going to leave and pretend this didn’t happen. Until Madara appeared from behind his usual tree, stepping around it and toward him. He was looking absolutely exhausted indeed and for a moment, Tobirama felt bad for the man, knowing Madara had taken on him to work on Hashirama’s paperwork the previous night. Madara probably didn’t sleep at all, to have it all done, to have the mission assigned to the new, mixed teams they came up with the previous week. To see how things worked between Senjus and Uchihas, to see if collaboration was already possible between the two clans. He had a lot of hopes for it, as much as Madara did. Or so Tobirama thought. He was a great sensor but he still wasn’t able to read thoughts.  
  
Seeing Madara sit with him among the flowers was a surprise, though. He hadn’t imagined Madara would do anything of the sort but he liked the image, still. He liked it and he wondered, for a moment, if he should talk. Madara decided for him.  
  
“Your brother is an idiot,” he whispered tiredly, resting his head into his hand, his elbow digging into his thigh as he was sitting cross-legged.  
  
“He is,” Tobirama answered without missing a beat. “What did he do again ?”  
  
“He started to get depressed when I said I was taking a pause,” Madara stated, his lids dropping a little on his eyes but slowly, he looked at him in the eyes and Tobirama’s first reflex was to look away. Of course it was, seeing how he had been told, again and again, to fear the sharingans, to never look an Uchiha in the eyes. But things were different now, weren’t they ? They lived in peace, together, for how long it were to last. And Madara’s eyes were so beautifully dark, lacking any trace of sharingan.  
  
Looking at Madara in the eyes did strange things to him, though. His heart started to race again, his blood burning into his veins, his head feeling a little light and Tobirama focused on the flowers in his hands instead, resuming his braiding in hopes it would take all these things away from his mind.  
  
“He’s getting more and more restless ever since Mito got pregnant,” Tobirama shrugged, he sighed. “I fear he won’t get back to his usual state even after the child is born. If anything, things will get worse.”  
  
“I thought the same,” Madara admitted after a pause and silence surrounded them again.  
  
Focused on his braiding, Tobirama didn’t mind if they weren’t talking anymore. Things had been easier with Madara lately, despite the weird looks the man was sending him most of the times but now ? Except looking tired as hell, Madara seemed relaxed by his side. Very much so. It was the first time Tobirama was seeing him so serene, especially around him and it made him wonder what changed between them. If anything changed at all, ever. He still was the “bastard” who dared stabbing Izuna through the chest, even if Izuna survived that one. Or so he was, the last time they argued. Which was .. A long time ago, as Tobirama couldn’t remember the exact date. Had it been that long, since they last fought ? When did bickering with Madara became a thing of the past, exactly ?  
  
When did spending quiet time with him became a thing, to begin with ? Madara could have left, earlier but he decided to come, to join him. After he spent so much time trying to avoid his presence, now he was seeking it. And from his position, back arched, lacking its usual prideful hold, eyes half closed, chakra to its minimal levels .. Madara wasn’t keeping his guard up, even if it was just the two of them.  
  
Was it exactly the reason why this was happening ? Was Madara .. trusting him ? Enough to lower his guard ?  
  
Without thinking much, Tobirama looked up at the other man again, he looked up at these tired eyes now fixed on his hands, on the way he was working with the flowers and Tobirama wondered, for a second, if his … curiosity about the other man was returned. He liked Madara. Maybe in a romantic way, Tobirama wasn’t sure, his feelings were too jammed to make much sense out of them. But he liked him.  
  
What if Madara liked him back ?  
  
It would then explain why Madara came here every time he did too. Not to keep an eye on him. Maybe it was just .. His way to stay close ? Maybe he thought this was the only way they could spend time together ? The quiet sort of time ? Or did Madara share his doubts ? Did he think they couldn’t get along enough to spend time at the same place without being at each other’s throat ? Hence why he’d rather stay hidden behind his tree ?  
  
Maybe he was asking himself too many questions and Tobirama chased them all from his mind, he held back a sigh and focused on his braiding again. Those questions, he’d keep them all for himself. It felt weird to think about them, already. So asking them out ? That’d be a bit too much, even for him. Instead, he preferred to focus on the silence, on the moment. He could spend quiet time with Madara, if that was Madara’s goal as well, with coming to the park. It was beautiful after all and Madara wasn’t ruining anything with his presence.  
  
If anything, he looked beautiful, surrounded with flowers, with a ray of sun bringing some warm light to his face and said face lacking its usual scowl. A deadly beauty, really and Tobirama never thought he’d become so smitten with it. But he only ever met Madara on a battlefield before. He never, never saw him other than that monster of chakra he truly was and Tobirama wondered, for a moment, if Madara ever was anything else but that before. Anything but that warrior. Did he ever have time to relax, before they created Konoha ? Did he ever take a pause and nap in the afternoon just because he was too tired?  
  
But Tobirama preferred, once again, to keep his questions to himself. For the day was so quiet, it wasn’t a mood meant to be broken with meaningless talks. And, Tobirama had to admit it, he wanted to be selfish, for once. He wanted to spend that time with the man he fancied, for as long as it was to last. Then, he’d have to go back to whatever was waiting for him, in his brother’s office. He deserved this moment. He did.  
  
Madara’s curiosity about what he was doing made Tobirama smile though. Despite how tired he was, Madara was focused on his hands, as if he was trying to figure out how Tobirama was braiding the flowers together, what it was going to become. He was looking .. interested with it and Tobirama wondered if Madara ever braided flowers before. Wasn’t it something children of his clan did ? Wasn’t it something his mother taught him ? But traditions between their respective clans were so different, after all.  
  
Still, it gave Tobirama a good idea, to what he was going to make, once the braid would be long enough and his smile widened a little just to think about it.  
  
A couple of minutes more were necessary for him and he was surprised when Madara handed him out a couple of flowers to add to the braid when he already had picked them all around himself. He didn’t comment though, accepting Madara’s gesture humbly and trying to ignore the shiver running up his spine when their fingers brushed. He wasn’t sure it came from fear, as Madara touching him always meant something bad was about to happen before, or from something else. But Madara still was looking so relaxed, so peaceful yet. Almost normal.  
  
Madara did startle a little, when Tobirama pushed himself on his knees, to lean closer, he looked up with a slight frown, as if silently asking him what he was up to but all Tobirama did was push back a strand of hair away from the man’s face and place the flower crown he made on top of his head, before he sat back on his feet, admiring the image. Madara was looking so confused, yet so beautiful with that crown of colorful flowers sitting on his brow. The Uchiha held up his hand, to brush the tip of his fingers against the petals, his frown deepened a little.  
  
“What ..,” he whispered, but if he meant to say something else, he didn’t. All words got lost in silence and Tobirama tilted his head to the side, he offered the older man a soft smile.  
  
“You look much less threatening this way,” he stated, half joking, half teasing. But it was true. Despite the scowl on his face, coming from his state of confusion, Madara was looking so very beautiful this way. The flowers suited him. They did and Tobirama was a little proud he was able to pull such a stunt without the Uchiha jumping at his throat. If anything, Madara was looking a little embarrassed now, even and he looked away, his cheeks tinted with a hint of pink.  
  
Tobirama found himself staring for a long time and something broke, in him. Something strong, that he never thought would ever break, something that had been with him ever since he was a kid, something he learned by heart and never was willing to let go of. But seeing the Great, Deadly, Scary Uchiha Madara like this, wearing his flower crown and looking flustered with it, did it and Tobirama cleared his throat, to catch the other man’s attention, he hesitated, when Madara’s eyes settled on his again.  
  
A leap of faith.  
  
Tobirama placed a hand near Madara’s hip, to support his weight, his free hand going for the other man’s cheek, he pushed his lips against the older man’s, preparing himself to withstand an attack. But the attack never came. Time seemed to stop around them, suspended, the rest of the world disappeared and Tobirama’s senses only came back when he felt Madara’s lips moving against his. Faintly, yes, but they did and Tobirama was so surprised he pulled back, to look deep into Madara’s eyes.  
  
The gleam was back. The one he thought came from hatred or resentment. It was right there, in these dark orbs and Tobirama blinked his surprised away, when he realized it was nothing he imagined before. No, Madara wasn’t glaring at him. He was .. He wanted him ? Was it desire ? Lust ? Need ? All of these ? And it took a moment for Tobirama to notice the gentle caress of fingers upon the hand he was leaning on.  
  
Madara .. Madara liked him, then ? Was it his way to say so ? Kissing him back, even if lightly ? Touching him with no intention to hurt him ? Tobirama could do with that, he decided. He could. And he would, if Madara was willing.  
  
“We should head back,” Madara whispered after a long moment of just looking at each other’s eyes but he didn’t turn away just yet. Tobirama leaned forward, tentatively, his heart ached when Madara’s eyes glanced at his lips but again, Madara didn’t bulge when Tobirama kissed him, the hand he had placed on the older man’s cheek pulling him a little closer. Just a tiny bit.  
  
This time, Madara gave him a little more. He tilted his head, slightly, his lips moving in a somewhat off pace and yet, kissing back again. And Tobirama was tempted to go for more. Maybe not a long making out session but .. But he liked Madara. He had realized so some time ago now and yet never imagined anything like this would ever happen. But it was happening and he didn’t know how long it was going to last, he didn’t know if it was ever going to happen again. Part of him wanted to make the best of that moment, to make use of their solitude and go for more, if Madara wasn’t shy about being in the middle of the park.  
  
But the other part of his heart won the battle and Tobirama pulled back, when he felt like the kiss had lasted enough. He was even smug enough to notice the way Madara chased after his lips, even for a second, as if he wanted for them to continue and he smiled, glancing up at the older man, at his pinkish cheeks and the way the tip of his tongue went to wet his lips a little more, and the way his fingers seemed to try and grab his hand, to make him stay.  
  
“We should,” Tobirama answered after a moment of gathering his wits. Madara didn’t seem angry with it. He didn’t look uncomfortable, nor disappointed either. But they both had a duty to accomplish, that duty being to do all of Hashirama’s work as the Hokage was a big whiny child and it took them a moment to finally part, to stand, without saying a word. It took them a moment to get back to the real world, to let their bubble pop and Tobirama gathered his hakama, slid his feet into his sandals again, trying not to smile when he noticed that Madara was waiting for him.  
  
They did exchange one last sideway glance, before they started to walk toward the Hokage’s tower but they didn’t say a word. Maybe they should have talked of this, before they had to be serious again, maybe they should have taken that time but oh well. Tobirama was quite confident with what was to come and his mood followed him until late that night, when he went back home after working on Hashirama’s paperwork for hours, drained yet happy.  
  
Madara wore his flower crown for the rest of the day, after all.


End file.
